'Politicians lit the fuse'

 

        Column: Tunnel of Time

Shevlin Sebastian talks to a rioter

Fourteen-year-old Afzal of Jannagar bustee spoke of what he did on Monday, December 7.

“After the mosque was razed, my mother looked at me and said, ‘As a self-respecting Muslim you must go out into the streets and fight for your rights.’ What could I do? I went out and joined the boys. We were all shocked, we never expected it. It was decided a procession would be taken out. A crowd gathered.

“As we were crossing CIT Road my father saw me. He pulled me out, grabbed my ears, and said, ‘Go back home, don’t get into all this.’ But my friends were watching. How could I walk away like that? I broke free of my father’s grasp and joined the procession.

Afzal and I sat on the green patch of Park Circus Maidan. It was a clear day. A light breeze was blowing. Afzal had wide, big eyes. They were full of surprise and shock. He could not imagine he had been a party to such violence. Afzal was thin. He smiled now and then but could not conceal the guilt.

“The Muslims are very angry,’ he said. “They have never been so angry before, especially in West Bengal. But we are aware it is the politicians who create these problems. We have nothing against Hindus. They are good, decent people. But the politicians... they light the fuse and then go and sit at home, secure. Nothing happens to them. We are the ones who suffer. The poor suffer all the time. We are running out of food. Unlike you we don’t have a refrigerator in our homes.

“At Padmapukur we were attacked with stones and bombs. I saw young boys who never had the courage so much as to lift a stone transformed before my eyes. This is what happens in a crowd. I saw a boy my age pick up a bomb which had been thrown at us but had not exploded. He just picked it up and hurled it back. How did he get so much courage? Had the bomb burst at that moment his hand would have been blown off.

“We returned and attacked some shops on Park Street. We knew one grocery store owner was a known sympathiser of the Bharatiya Janata Party and used to provide funds to it. We attacked the store. I took part in the attack for a while, breaking down the door, entering the shop and grabbing packets of biscuits and chocolates. But after a while I was frightened and ran back home.

“Later we collected money from the mohalla to buy bombs and arms. In half an hour we had Rs 5,000. Had we gone around asking people for money for somebody’s marriage the same people would have turned us down. But on that day money was no problem. The police were of no consequence. We were not scared of them. In fact we frightened them away.

“This should stop. This hatred will lead us nowhere. We heard when the news of the demolition of the mosque spread to the bustee areas of Number Four Bridge, the Hindu cobblers there celebrated by distributing sweets. Will this not make Muslims angry? I am so confused. I am afraid a bomb will explode any moment and I’ll lose my arm.

“My father slapped me hard when I returned home. He asked me if I had gone mad and said I should not indulge in violence. What has happened has happened. Hindus and Muslims will have to live together. I agreed with him. I like the Hindus. They have helped me a lot. I work for a Hindu in his house as a servant, but I am also afraid. Who knows what will happen?”

(Published in The Telegraph, December 25, 1992)